Another big home match awaits Republic FC Saturday, as the club welcomes long-tenured rivals LA Galaxy II to Heart Health Park for the two sides’ 26th all time meeting. Historically, the two clubs have always played each other tough, which should make for an exciting night as Los Angeles comes off a thrilling win of their own and Sacramento looks to build off the momentum of beating two top clubs.
While the match serves as a precursor to the club’s U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinal on Tuesday – it still has the club’s full attention. The squad’s again looking to please its home crowd while maintaining consistency no matter the opponent. Plus, grabbing three straight wins in league play has evaded Sacramento this season, and a victory Saturday would secure that for the club for the first time.
“It’s 11 men against 11 men,” said Head Coach Mark Briggs on Thursday. “We have to go out and continue our home form and make sure at ten o’clock Saturday we have three points on the board. That’s our only focus right now.”
“It’s been a good week, we’re all confident and ready,” said Nick Ross. “It’s a big game; it’s another chance to win three points. And were at home and we’ve been really solid at home [this season] so we’re looking forward to it.”
As has been well documented, a lot has gone right for the club of late – especially on defense. But it isn’t luck – every player is well aware of what they’re doing well and how it’s impacted the game on the field. Their performance against Detroit last week showed that, and also gave something to use as a visualization of what happens when they perform at the level they know they can.
“It’s a bit of a cliché but we really are defending as eleven,” said Lee Desmond. “…Saturday we really stuck to the game plan and played very solid considering we were going to a hostile environment.”
“We’ve been seeing glimpses of what we’ve produced the last two weeks throughout the season,” Briggs continued. “It’s starting to click, so we have to keep that momentum and keep pushing forward.”
Regardless of the stretch that lies ahead for the squad – three matches in eight days to close out June awaits – the coaching staff remains confident in the group. The busy season so far hasn’t chipped away at anyone, and instead the group’s become tighter, better, and more aligned than the club ever thought they could be.
“From an attitude standpoint, from a mentality standpoint, it’s all we, not me,” Briggs said of the squad. “That’s one of the biggest things you want as a coach. When the collective is the most important thing in everyone’s mind, you have an opportunity. And I think with this group, they’re hungry, they want more, and they’re never satisfied. So we’ve just got to continue to push them.”